Shipping carton for chinaware



March 5, 1940.

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d I f ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES SHIPPING CARTON FOR QHINAWARE James J. Smith, Marietta, N. Y.,assignor to Onondaga. Pottery Company, Syracuse, N. Y.,

a corporation of New York Application January s, 1938, Serial No. 183,012

2 Claims.

' This invention relates in general to shipping cartons, and more particularly to a carton for shipping articles of hollow tableware, such as cups, bowls, and the like.

It is well understood that the shipping of such articles involves a considerable problem in that they are fragile and of substantial weight. The cheaper grades of hollow tableware manufacturedand sold in large volume to restaurants and like places is sold at a comparatively low price, and the margin of profit to the manufacturer is exceedingly small. In fact, the profit derived from the sale of this particular type of ware is often narrowed down to the proposition of shipping the ware. That is, the profit may be en-- tirely wiped out by the cost involved in properly packing the ware for shipment. This cost includes the cost of the shipping carton and the cost of correctly packing the Ware in the carton.

Up to the present time, it has been customary to pack china and tableware in receptacles, and to separate the various pieces of ware with some yielding material such as hay, excelsior, shredded paper etc. This method of shipping chinaware furtherpresents a problem at the receiving end in that it necessitates considerable disorder and untidiness about the place where the carton is unpacked. This is objected to by restaurants, hotels, and the like, where it is necessary to unpack chinaware at comparatively short intervals.

Another method conveniently used is to divide the receptacle into cells or small individual compartments to receive each piece of ware. Cartons of this type are of excessive cost due to the amount of material employed in their construction. Also, these cartons are unnecessarily bulky in that the individual cells must be large enough to accommodate the largest dimension of the article. For example, to receive a bowl, cup, or other tapered article, each cell must be'large enough to receive the top of the cup or bowl.

My invention has as an object a shipping carton for hollow ware embodying a particularly economical construction which, at the same time, provides ample and sufiicient protection to the ware during shipment.

The invention has as a further object a shipping carton for hollow tableware involving a construction whereby the carton can be most conveniently packed, one packer being able to pack a large number of these cartons per hour, each carton containing three or more dozen of articles, and this construction is such that the carton is conveniently unpacked in the restaurant, or

' articles.

bodying my invention with the top panels open and illustrating the arrangement of cups in one of the compartments.

Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional view takenon lines 2-,2, Figure 1.

The invention consists generally of a boxlike receptacle formed of paper-board, or like mate.- rial, and preferably of such dimensions as to receive a numberof articles, a plurality of separating strips of fibrous material arranged on edge and extending across one dimension 'of the receptacleto divide the same into compartments,

and said strips including portions for maintaining the same in vertical position and in spaced apart relationship.

As here shown, the receptacle I0 is of boxlikei formation and of sufiicient dimensions to accommodate a plurality of layers of cups or other The receptacle may be of any suitable size or construction and provided with the conventional cover panels I! which are folded inwardlyto close the receptacle after the same is packed. The receptacle Hi is preferably formed of heavy cardboard, or laminated paper-board.

'strip of heavy paper-board or corrugated material folded so as to form the separators l5 and outer strips l6 extending along the sides of the receptacle. Connecting end pieces I! are also formed by the folds. The connecting end walls H are arranged at alternate ends of adjacent compartments l8 formed by the separators l5.

It is to be understood that the strip is initially scored so that it can be quickly and conveniently folded at the proper points to form the separators I5 and end walls 11. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each layer is separated by a partition 2t which is likewise formed of cardboard or corrugated paper-board, and which is coextensive with the internal dimensions of the receptacle. The carton is packed by inserting one of the folded strips in the bottom to form the chambers I8. A plurality of cups as M are then inserted in the respective compartments in spaced apart relation, and if the hollow ware is formed with handles, the articles are arranged with the handles extending downwardly and those adjacent the end of the receptacle with the handles also extending inwardly. A strip 22 of packing material is then laid over the cups M and cups M are inserted and pressed downwardly between the cups M flexible material and follows both the transverse and vertical contour of the cups.

When the articles consist of cups, bowls, or the like, with the bases of less diameter than the top rim, adjacent articles in each row are arranged with their bases extending in opposite directions.

After each of the chambers in the layer are filled in this manner, a partition or pad 20 is inserted and another folded strip of separating material is arranged on the upper side of the partition. This process is repeated until the receptacle is filled. The connecting end walls I! function to maintain the separating strips IS in edgewise vertical position and in spaced apart relationship, whereby the packer is free to employ both hands in inserting the articles into the carton.

Attention is called to the fact that the separating strips I5 form braces acting in opposition to any endwise compression of the receptacle, and any compression in this direction is more likely to break the articles of hollow ware than compression in a widthwise direction. The height of the receptacle is such that when the panels 3 l are folded inwardly and secured together, the articles of hollow ware are tightly pressed in the carton preventing any relative movement which would be likely to cause chipping or damage to the ware.

The carton is conveniently and quickly unpacked by the purchaser of the ware without The strip 22 is of creating any disorder or untidiness. The separators and packing strips 22 may be replaced in the empty receptacle after the ware is removed.

What I claim is:

l. A shipping package for articles of hollow tableware such as cups comprising a boxlike receptacle, a strip of fiber board folded to form a plurality of separators extending across one dimension of the receptacle and engaging opposite sides thereof to form self sustaining elongated compartments, each of said compartments being proportioned to receive a row of cups arranged with their axes extending transversely of said compartment and with the bottoms of adjacent cups extending in opposite directions, and a strip of flexible material extending around the lower side of alternate cups and around the upper side of the intermediate cups and conforming to the contour of the side wall of the cups.

2. A shipping package for articles of hollow ware, such as cups, comprising a boxlike receptacle and fiber board partition members dividing the space within said receptacle into parallel elongated compartments extending between 0pposed sides of the receptacle and arranged in superposed layers each of which includes a plurality of compartments arranged side by side in a row, each two adjacent compartments in the same layer being separated by a strip-like portion of a partition member bent to provide an immediately adjacent portion extending transversely to the first mentioned portion across one of said compartments and forming an anchorage for the first mentioned portion, each of said compartments being proportioned to receive a row of cups arranged with their axes extending across one dimension of said compartment and with the bottoms of adjacent cups extending in opposite directions, and a strip of flexible material extending longitudinally of the compartment and extending around the lower sides of alternate cups and around the upper sides of intermediate cups.

JAMES J. SMITH. 

